Defense Lifts Stevens Past Naz into Top Seed in Empire 8 Tournament
HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 17, 2011) – The ninth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology women’s lacrosse team clinched at least a share of the Empire 8 regular-season title and right to host the conference tournament with a 9-5 win over Nazareth College on a windy Sunday afternoon at the De Baun Athletic Complex. The Stevens (12-2 overall, 7-0 Empire 8) defense was phenomenal, holding Naz scoreless over the final 31:37 of game time as the Ducks won for the 22nd time in 23 regular-season conference contests.
Stevens ended the game with a 23-22 edge in shots, a 17-12 margin in ground balls and a 9-7 advantage in draw controls. The Ducks connected on three of their six free-position attempts and the Golden Flyers (9-4 overall, 4-2 Empire 8) were 0-for-5.
Freshman Melanie Welcome earned the win in goal for the Ducks, making three saves in each half.
After Nazareth jumped on top 3:36 into the game, Stevens scored two-straight times to take a 2-1 lead with 17:17 left in the first half following goals from sophomore Joey Galligan and senior Pamela Loria. In what was a see-saw first half, Naz came back with a pair from sophomore Alyssa Johnston (Canandaigua, N.Y.) and senior Kristine Olijnyk (Webster, N.Y.) to take a 3-2 margin with less than 14 minutes to play before intermission, but Stevens answered, tallying three of the first’s final five goals and the two teams went into the locker room tied at five-all. Junior Michelle Buonacuore tallied twice, while senior Christine Smith netted the other.
The second stanza was filled with strong defense and long offensive sets, and the Ducks were just better, limiting Nazareth opportunities and doing enough on offense to earn the key victory. Freshman Kara Rafferty broke the five-all tie 2:01 into the half, and after 16:21 of scoreless lacrosse, Galligan netted her second of the day to put the Ducks up two with 11:38 left. Buonacuore and Loria both converted free-position attempts into scores for the final margin.
Olijnyk led the Golden Flyers with two goals, while senior Chelsey Amidon (Marcellus, N.Y.) handed out two assists. Freshman goalie Tara Prosak (Jamesville, N.Y.) made eight saves in the loss.
Buonacuore led the Stevens offense with three goals on four shots. Loria had two goals and three caused turnovers, while Galligan found net twice, had two ground balls, one draw control, and one caused turnover. Smith finished with one goal, a game-high six caused turnovers, six ground balls, and three draw controls, and Rafferty scored once, had two draw controls, a caused turnover, and ground ball. Junior Jenna Scheibling and sophomore Spencer Waybright each handed out one assist, with Waybright picking up three ground balls.
The defense – senior Kate Cox (Aston, Pa.), junior Ashley Carey, junior Lindsay Daly, and sophomore Teegan Kelly – was superb all day for the Ducks and essential in the important victory.
Stevens will return to action on April 23 at Rochester Institute of Technology before visiting No. 1 The College of New Jersey in the regular-season finale on April 28.
The Empire 8 Championship will be May 7 and 8 at the De Baun Athletic Complex and the Ducks will be the top seed. Last year, Stevens was the second seed and defeated RIT in the semis and host Ithaca College in the final to earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship.